Teacher Candidates' Perceptions of Nonnative‐English‐Speaking Teacher Educators in a TESOL Program: “Is there a language barrier compensation?"

A great deal of research has examined the status of nonnative- English-speaking (NNES) professionals in TESOL from multiple perspectives, including graduate students (Brutt-Griffler & Samimy, 2001; Liu, 1999; Park, 2012), program administrators (Clark & Paran, 2007; Nemtchinova, 2005), and ESL/EFL learners (Arva & Medgyes, 2000; Butler, 2007; Ma, 2012a). Little research has addressed native-English-speaking (NES) teacher candidates’ perspectives on the NNES-NES divide in TESOL. To fill this void, this study examined the perceptions of teacher candidates from mainstream U.S. backgrounds toward NNES teacher educators. Seventy-six students in a TESOL program completed a web-based self-administered questionnaire. The rating data show no statistically significant differences between NNES and NES teacher educators in personal qualities, teaching preparation, and feedback to students, whereas NNES teacher educators scored lower than their NES counterparts in material presentation, interaction with students, and cultural awareness. The narrative data suggest that, although the NNES teacher educators’ English variety was viewed as a barrier in classroom communication, the teacher candidates perceived admirably the strategies to compensate for their lack of Standard English competence through preparation and various communication techniques. The NNES teacher educators’ bilingual, multicultural experience was viewed as a form of cultural capital for teacher preparation.